Within the next decade the microelectronic industry will require a lithographic process capable of mass-producing integrated circuits with sub-70 nanometer (nm) critical dimensions (see: L. R. Harriott, Materials Today 2, 9 (1999)). This formidable challenge is unlikely to be achieved by evolutionary steps. Extreme UV (EUVL), X-ray (XRL), electron beam (EBL) and ion beam (IBL) lithographies therefore have emerged as more promising candidates for next generation nanofabrication than standard photolithographies, because the shorter the radiation wavelength employed in the lithographic process, the finer the theoretical resolution.
In order to fully exploit these next generation, sub-100 nm lithographic exposure tools, it is essential to develop compatible, next generation resists—i.e. imaging or recording media—that are capable of accommodating the higher resolutions these new exposure tools provide. Such a resist material would need to achieve high sensitivity, high contrast, high resolution and high plasma etch resistance for pattern transfer to a substrate.
A principal example of the disparity between state-of-the-art exposure tools and presently available recording media is seen in electron beam lithography. Although instrumentation for electron beam exposure is capable of sub-100 nm resolution, current resists for recording these exposure patterns suffer from electron proximity effects, which result in resist degradation well beyond the area of actual exposure. Accordingly, this invention provides not only new resists for electron beam lithography, but also new resists adaptable to many short wavelength lithographic methods for higher-resolution, next generation nanofabrication.